This federal
law regulates warranties for the protection of consumers. The
essence of the law concerning aftermarket auto parts is that a
vehicle manufacturer may not condition a written or implied
warranty on the consumers using parts or services which are
identified by brand, trade, or corporate name (such as the
vehicle maker's brand) unless the parts or service are provided free of charge. The law means that the use of an
aftermarket part alone is not cause for denying the warranty.
However, the law's protection does not extend to aftermarket
parts in situations where such parts actually caused the
damage being claimed under the warranty. Further, consumers are
advised to be aware of any specific terms or conditions stated
in the warranty which may result in its being voided. The law
states in relevant part:

“No warrantor
of a consumer product may condition his written or implied
warranty of such product on the consumers using, in connection
with such product, any article or service (other than article or
service provided without charge under the terms of
the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or
corporate name...” (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)).

In other words, no compressor manufacturer can
say that they will not honor their warranty if the system is NOT
charged with R134a, unless they are going to provide the R134a without
charge under the terms of the warranty.

A Primer on the
Magnuson-Moss Act The
Federal Trade Commission Magnuson-Moss Act protects consumers.
This act passed in 1975 states that "Tie-In Sales"
Provisions are
NOT allowed in consumer warranties. Manufacturers cannot
require consumers to purchase items (R134a) or
services in order to keep their warranty valid.

"Tie-In Sales" Provisions

Generally, tie-in sales provisions are not allowed. Such a
provision would require a purchaser of the warranted product to
buy an item or service from a particular company to use with the
warranted product in order to be eligible to receive a remedy
under the warranty. The following IS an example of prohibited
tie-in sales provisions.

In order to
keep your new Compressor warranty in effect, you must use
R134a. Failure to use R134a voids this warranty.

TITLE 15 >
CHAPTER 50 > § 2305
Release date: 2004-05-18

§ 2305. Full and limited
warranting of a consumer product

“Nothing in this chapter shall
prohibit the selling of a consumer product which has both full
and limited warranties if such warranties are clearly and
conspicuously differentiated.”

ENV 12 Refrigerants ARE clearly and conspicuously
differentiated to be compatible withMineral,
Ester and Pagrefrigerant oils only, and will not harm the O rings or hoses of
any A/C system. ENV Refrigerants carry a guarantee that ENV
Refrigerants will not harm air conditioning compressors or other
related mechanical equipment when used in accordance with ENV
directions.

Therefore no one can
state that ENV 12 Refrigerants can not be used instead of R134a in all R134a A/C systems, including R12 Retrofitted
systems.